Technical Field
The present invention relates to a method, a guide assembly and a system for separating a viscera set eviscerated from slaughtered poultry.
State of the Art
Viscera separation is an important part of the poultry slaughtering process. The two most important parameters are speed and quality. Modern poultry slaughtering systems are capable of operating at processing speeds of above 200 birds per minute. As the value of the systems is directly proportional with their processing speed, even a small increase in the processing speed may be very valuable. However, an increase in the processing speed should not result in a corresponding decrease in the quality of the separation.
One particular important part of the viscera separation process is the separation of edible from non-edible parts. Typically, the intestines and gallbladder are perceived as non-edible parts, whereas the liver, heart and gizzard are perceived as edible parts. Especially, the separation of the gallbladder from the liver is challenging, as the gallbladder contains bile that may contaminate the edible parts of the viscera set if the separation is not done properly.
WO2015/070880 and WO2014/183769 disclose methods and apparatuses for separating viscera sets, wherein viscera sets suspended from holders under the influence of gravity are arranged in an elongated opening of a guide member in a manner whereby the intestines and the gallbladder are suspended below said guide member and the liver and gizzard are positioned above said guide member. The intestines and the gallbladder are then separated from the remaining viscera set while the liver rests on a separation support surface of the guide member.
In some cases, however, a part of the liver is pulled below the stationary guide plates and is cut off and discarded together with the gallbladder and the intestines, and in other cases a bit of the gallbladder is left on the liver.
Thus, it remains a problem to provide a method and/or system allowing an even more precise separation of the intestines and gallbladder from the remaining viscera at high processing speeds when viscera sets are suspended from viscera holders.